Bulls-Magic Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLDPosted Jan 01 2013 1:38PM

While the Chicago Bulls have been on a roller coaster of highs and lows, their latest defeat might have them at their lowest point.

The injury-depleted Orlando Magic are in a similar tailspin, but hope to build off their most recent performance.

The slumping Bulls will try to get back on track and win their fifth straight in Orlando on Wednesday night when they take on the Magic, losers of six straight.

Chicago (16-13) looks to shake off a troubling 91-81 loss to visiting Charlotte on Monday, which ended the Bobcats' 18-game losing streak and dropped the Bulls out of a tie for first place in the Central.

After dropping three of their last four by an average of 16.7 points, the Bulls are focused on turning things around in a two-game trip to Florida that also stops at defending champion Miami on Friday.

"We're in a funk right now, we've been up and down this season," said forward Taj Gibson. "We just have to find our way out of it."

The Magic (12-19) want to break out of their own funk, having dropped four consecutive home games - including the first two on their current four-game homestand.

Orlando, however, has reason for optimism. Despite playing without Jameer Nelson, E'Twaun Moore and Glen Davis due to injury, the short-handed Magic nearly toppled the Heat in a 112-110 overtime loss on Monday.

"We talk about character and how you will be challenged with a little adversity and how you respond," coach Jacque Vaughn said. "I'm proud of how we responded."

Nikola Vucevic responded with a franchise-record 29 rebounds and a career-high 20 points on Monday after totaling 29 rebounds in his previous three contests.

The center also played well in his last meeting with the Bulls, finishing with 16 points and 10 boards in a 99-93 loss in Chicago on Nov. 6.

"We almost beat the Miami Heat without some of our really important players," Vucevic said. "If we play hard like we did, we have a chance against anybody in this league."

While Nelson (hip) and Moore (elbow) are considered game-time decisions, Davis is out at least four weeks with a shoulder sprain.

The Magic have especially struggled without Nelson, losing eight of nine without their starting point guard.

Orlando has failed to reach 100 points in regulation in each of its last seven games, but could find some open looks against a defense that drew the ire of coach Tom Thibodeau on Monday.

The Bulls have allowed opponents to shoot 51.1 percent while being outrebounded by a 142-111 margin in their last three defeats.

"Some nights you're going to shoot better than others," Thibodeau said. "But the defense and rebounding is not where it needs to be."

Carlos Boozer, though, looks for his third straight double-double in Orlando, averaging 22.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in his last two trips there.

Luol Deng, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds on Monday, could be a factor after going for 20 and nine, respectively, in the first meeting with the Magic.

Chicago has averaged just 85.0 points in its last four games, but could fare better against an Orlando team that has given up 109.3 per game in its past four.

Kirk Hinrich is considered day-to-day after missing Monday's game due to "a compilation of things," according to Thibodeau.

The Bulls have won six of seven against the Magic.

Copyright 2013 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Boozer leads Bulls' bigs in 96-94 win over Magic

By KYLE HIGHTOWERPosted Jan 03 2013 1:49AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The Chicago Bulls haven't felt like themselves for much of the past few weeks.

They're hoping a much-needed win is the first step in finding their way back.

Carlos Boozer had a season-high 31 points and 11 rebounds, Luol Deng scored 23 points and the Bulls hung on to beat the Orlando Magic 96-94 on Wednesday night.

Taj Gibson added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who played without center Joakim Noah. Chicago was outrebounded 37-34 in Noah's absence but exploited an injury-plagued Magic front court, outscoring them 42-32 in the paint.

Jameer Nelson missed a leaning jumper in the closing seconds that would have tied it, sending Orlando to its seventh straight loss overall and fifth in a row at home.

"We're down. We've been shorthanded all season," Boozer said. "But this game we were without Joakim and I thought Taj came in and played a monster game. Luol was normal with his All-Star performance. We did a god job at the end being resilient ... We did a good job of when we needed to of getting stops at the very end."

Nelson returned to the lineup after missing two games with a sore hip and scored a season-high 32 points. Nik Vucevic finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Arron Afflalo added 19 points for the Magic.

They dropped to 0-7 without Glen Davis, who could be sidelined for a few more weeks as he rehabs a sprained left shoulder.

"I think teammates would agree that there's no secret that Glen adds a different element to our team," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "But ... it's about time for us to realize as a team that Glen's probably not going to play two days from now, so we need to continue to work together ... and muster the energy and approach still."

Vaughn rested forward Maurice Harkless for the second consecutive game. But he said it was simply a coach's decision to ensure the rookie, who was thrust into a starting role while Hedo Turkoglu was injured, is getting enough rest.

In the meantime, Orlando has just a handful of days to attend to its continuing shortcomings with the Atlantic division-leading New York Knicks visiting Saturday.

"That's something we need to do," Vucevic said of the Magic's fourth-quarter effort. "We never give up. We stick together as a team ... That's something going forward that is going to help us going down the road."

Despite Noah watching the game from the team hotel as he fought flu-like symptoms, the Bulls did get back guard Kirk Hinrich after he missed a game with a sore left knee. Hinrich's shooting ability and ball handling allowed them to spread the court and get some easy looks inside against the smaller Magic lineup.

They took advantage of the absence Davis, and a tender Gustavo Ayon (sore thigh), as Chicago's starting frontcourt of Deng, Boozer and Gibson outscored their Magic counterparts 75-30.

"It was better, but it's not what it needs to be," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We had good offensive energy, and not the necessary defensive energy. It was better, but we still have to do much better than we did tonight."

The Bulls led by as many as 18 in the third quarter before a 13-6 run by the Magic trimmed it to 82-71 entering the fourth.

Despite its size disadvantage, Orlando held its own on the boards and stayed close down the stretch.

Nelson scored five straight points to cut the deficit to six and Vucevic dropped in back-to-back layups that trimmed it to 86-84 with 5:12 left.

Two shaky Magic possessions and a turnover allowed the Bulls to respond with eight straight points, pushing the lead to 94-84.

J.J. Redick hit a 3-pointer and a Vucevic got a dunk to give Orlando life, and following a Bulls miss, Redick found Afflalo, who swished a 3-pointer from the corner to cut it to 94-92 with 46.3 seconds on the clock.

The Bulls came up empty on their ensuing possession, and Gibson blocked a Nelson layup attempt out of bounds with only 11.3 remaining. Nelson then found a lane to the basket, but put up an off-balance, leaning floater that bounced off the rim.

Deng rebounded the miss and knocked down two free throws with 4.2 left to secure the win.

The Bulls' starting frontcourt held a 37-15 scoring advantage over the Magic in the first half, helping the Bulls build a 54-46 halftime lead. Boozer was the most active, scoring 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The Bulls also held a 20-14 edge on points in the paint.

"It was big," Gibson said. "We were down a lot of guys and we have guys banged up. We just have to come together as a whole and try to take each game one at a time. The way we got it down in the second half in in particular in the last quarter speaks volumes."

Notes: Vucevic's double-double was his 14th of the season. ... Bulls F Vladimir Radmanovic missed his third consecutive game with flu-like symptoms. ... Magic G E'Twaun Moore sat out his third straight game with a sprained left elbow.

Notebook: Bulls 96, Magic 94

THE FACTS: Playing 45 minutes in place of flu-ridden center Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked four shots for the Chicago Bulls in a 96-94 victory over the Orlando Magic. It was the first start of the season for the 6-foot-9 Gibson. Carlos Boozer scored a season-high 31 points for the Bulls and Luol Deng added 23 as they held off three Magic rallies in the second half to atone for an embarrassing home court loss against Charlotte two nights earlier.

Jameer Nelson matched his career high with 32 points for the Magic, but missed a short, contested jump shot that could have tied the game with 11 seconds left. It was the seventh straight loss for Orlando.

QUOTABLE: "The good thing about the NBA, you have a game either the next day or the day after so nobody should hang their heads. It's not like we're going out there and not playing hard."-- Nelson.

THE STAT: Coming off a franchise-record 29-rebound effort against Miami on Monday night, Magic center Nikola Vucevic didn't get his first rebound until 2:54 remained in the first half. He finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

QUOTABLE II: "I just tried to frustrate him in the first half and take him away from the rebounding aspect. He was the one trying to take my side of the road (in college). That is what coach (Tim) Floyd pushed him to try to do and he always pushed me to try to defend it. It worked out the right way."-- Gibson on Vucevic, his former college teammate at USC.

TURNING POINT: The Magic had trimmed an 18-point Chicago lead to two midway through the fourth quarter when Gibson dunked, scoring the first of eight straight points that left the Bulls with a 94-84 lead with three minutes left.

HOT: Boozer made six-of -eight shots and scored 13 points in the first quarter.

QUOTABLE III: "That set the tone for us. He had a huge first quarter and then Luol (Deng) was Luol, as usual, a little of everything. We got a lot of production from our starters."-- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau

NOT:J.J. Redick scored seven points in 34 minutes for the Magic, making only one of eight 3-point shots.

ROOKIE WATCH: Magic rookie Maurice Harkless did not play for a second straight game after starting 20 in a row.

NOTABLE: Noah missed his first game of the season. ... The Magic's seven-game losing streak is their longest since they dropped eight straight in February of 2006. ... The Bulls have won seven of their last eight against the Magic, including two games this season.